Double alarm mechanism



Sept. 22, 1953 J. WOLBARST 2,652,682

DOUBLE ALARM MECHANISM Filed April 19, 1950 l/WEA/TOA. .fofuz WoZ 5621;21

ATTORNE).

Patented Sept. 22, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOUBLE ALARM MECHANISM John Wolbarst, New York, N. Y.

Application April19, 1950, Serial No. 156,817

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to clocks, such as alarm clocks, and particularly deals with an alarm control mechanism for such clocks adapted to sound two successive alarms between a predetermined silent period.

Alarm clocks constructed to sound alarms at certain time intervals are well known in the art. However, many of the known repeater alarm clock mechanisms have certain disadvantages and are not as satisfactory as they could be. The general purpose of a repeater alarm clock is to automatically sound successive alarms at certain time intervals without requiring a manual stopping of the alarm mechanism.

The present invention contemplates a different alarm arrangement whereby a first alarm is sounded, say fifteen minutes prior to a second alarm, and unless the first alarm is manually stopped, its operation will continue. However, when the first alarm is manually stopped, a sec.- ond alarm is sounded say fifteen minutes later, and the alarm will continue to operate until again manually stopped, it being understood that only a single sounder or strikingmechanism is em.- ployed for both alarm periods. In order to achieve the above results a relatively simple, inexpensive and readily controllable double alarm mechanism is provided, which may be applied to any existing alarm clock movement of either the spring wound or electrically Operated types. without unduly complicating the clock structure.

The principal object of this invention therefore is the provision of a relatively simple, inexpensive and effective double alarm mechanism which will, after setting, sound first one alarm,

then pause, when that first alarm is stopped, :for a predetermined time period of silence, and then sound a second alarm, and which mechanism is so arranged that the first alarm must be stopped manually and that the stopping operation silencing the first alarm prepares the mechanism for sounding the second alarm, and that the second alarm can be stopped only by another manual operation.

A more specific object of this invention is the provision of a double alarm mechanism, including a single alarm sounder, and wherein are employed. two sounder-operation governing means so arranged that, when they are brought to certain positions the sounder will operate twice, the second sounding period following a predetermined time interval of silence, and wherein a hand control is employed for stopping both the first and the second alarm, and which hand control, when stopping the second alarm, renders the 2 alarm sounder inoperative until the hand control is reset for a repeat performance of a double alarm.

The foregoing and numerous other objects and important advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the ensuing description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which latter are intended for the purpose of explaining the principle of this invention and therefore are held in a more or less diagrammatical form, and do not disclose specific clock mechanisms to which the present (3.6-. vice may be applied, and wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation of one form of the mechanism adapted for spring-wound alarm clocks, parts of the mechanism being in a position just prior to the first operation of the alarm sounder;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 1-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view to that of Fig. l with the mechanism in position for the second alarm period;

Fig. 3a is a .diagrammatioal illustration of the relative setting of the two cam elements emplayed in Fig. i;

Fig. .4 illustrates diagrammatically a modified form of the device, applicable for electric alarm clocks, at the moment of sounding the first alarm;

Fig. 5 is a :fragmental illustration similar to that of Fig. 4 with the mechanism set for the second alarm;

Fig. 6 illustrates the modified mechanism in its final alarms-stopping position;

Fig. '7 is a top view, partly in section, of the lower end of the manually operated control device employed in the modified form; and

' Fig. 8 is a diagrammaticalillustration of the two cam elements employed in the modified form showing their offset position relative to each other.

Inasmuch as the drawings are to serve for explaining the alarm control structure only, the clock movements are either omitted or are only partly indicated. Thus in Fig. 1 numeral It dees a handesettab e shaf hi h m be m e to a y de ed hour at which the al is to be sounded. Fixedly secured to the shaft at oppoe ite ends the eof n ali nm t ith ea h other are two spaced cam detent elements I l and 2. h ft in is rot ablysu p e b t f am work o he clock m vem nt-which is d a ramma l yind eeted at 1.3..- .Facins detents H and k2 there will be seen cam elements l4 and arranged opposite each other. These cam elements are slidable upon shaft I and are rotatable about the shaft and are driven simultaneously by means of gears I6 and I6 engaged by relatively wide-faced pinions I1 and I1 mounted on a common shaft I8, which latter is driven by the clock movement. Obviously, any other suitable drive mechanism for simultaneously operating the cams can be readily substituted. The directions of the sliding motions of cam elements I4 and I5 are indicated by the double arrows I.

In tensional engagement with cam elements I4 and I5 are spring members I9 and 29, one end of which spring members is fixedly held, as at 2I, while their lower, free ends 22 and 23 are curved towards one another for engagement with striker 24 of an alarm sounder, of which bell 25 constitutes a part. Since an alarm sounder is usually operated by a spring-driven escapement movement which is independent of the clock movement, and inasmuch as the construction and operation of such an alarm sounder is well known in the art and does not form a part of the present invention, no specific illustration thereof is supplied. As this specification progresses, striker 24 and bell 25 will be referred to as either the alarm sounder or the sounder.

Spring member 29 will be seen equipped with a cam or extension 26, the purpose of which will become presently apparent. Between spring members I9 and 20 there is located a hand operated control member 21, operative in suitable fixed guides 28 and 29, and preferably held under tension by spring 39 in guide member 28. One of the edges of control member 21 is provided with three spaced position-defining means, such as ledges or notches 3I, 32 and 33, which facilitate the adjustment of control member 21 to any one of three distinct positions to which member 21 can be moved, spring 30 forcing its notches into engagement with guide 26.

In Figs. 1 and 2 control member 21 is held in the first position by notch or ledge 3|. In Fig. 3 the control member is shown in full lines in its second position and in broken lines in its third or last position. It will be noted that control member 21 has a spare-out or recess 34, see Fig. 2, for accommodating and for facilitating the passage therethrough of cam or extension 26 projecting from spring member 20 when the control member is in its second position, see Fig. 3. Lower end 35 of that member is bent towards striker 24 of the alarm sounder. When the control member is in its first position (see Fig. 1), extension 26 serves as a spacer to maintain spring 29 at a distance from striker 24.

The position of cam elements I4 and I5 is preferably such that their respective oppositely disposed notches I4 and I5, designed for engaging detents II and I2, are preferably offset at an arc corresponding to a desired time period, say of fifteen minutes, as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 3a.

Operation When shaft III is set to a certain desired hour, the rotation imparted to cam I4 will bring its notch I4 into registry with detent II. At that moment cam I4 is moved by spring I9 to the right as notch I4 engages detent II.

Prior to the movement of spring member I9 to the right, its lower free end engaged striker 24 of the alarm sounder, thus preventing its operation. As spring I9 becomes released by the movement of cam I4, it follows the cam and frees striker 24, and the alarm sounder will now operate. To stop its operation, control member 21 is moved to its second position, and is held in that position as bracket 28 becomes engaged by notch 32, as shown in Fig. 3. Prior to that movement of control member 21, cam or extension 26 of spring member 29 causes the latter to clear striker 24. When, however, member 21 is brought to its second position, cam 26 passes into recess 34, and spring member 29 engages striker 24 and stops the operation of the alarm sounder.

As the rotation of cams I4 and I5 progresses in the direction indicated by the single arrows in Fig. 1, cam I5 is gradually brought to a position at which its notch I5 will be in registry with detent I2. At that moment spring member 20 moves cam I5 in left-hand or outward direction and causes the engagement of detent I2 by notch I5. Thus released, bent end 23 of spring 29 will clear striker 24, and the alarm sounder will now operate.

To stop the operation of the alarm sounder the second time it is necessary to move control member 21 to its third or last position, indicated in broken lines in Fig. 3, at which position member 21 is held as bracket 28 becomes engaged by the last notch 33. At that position of member 21 its lower bent end engages striker 24 and thus causes the final stoppage of the alarm sounder.

When resetting of the sounder mechanism for another alarm operation at any desired hour,

member 21 must be moved to its first position,

shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Modification As stated, the double alarm mechanism of the present invention is applicable to electric clock movements, but in order to effectuate such application, the structure of the mechanism is slightly altered. In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 its modified forms are illustrated. There is again provided a hand operable time setting shaft 36, with which are fixedly secured detents 31 and 36, which in this case take the form of discs provided with perforations 39 and 40, the latter being aligned with one another.

Rotatably and slidably mounted upon shaft 36 are cam elements M and 42 which are simultaneously rotated by means of gears 43 and 44 and broad pinions 45 and 46, the latter being mounted upon common shaft 41 driven by the clock mechanism. Shaft 36 is rotatably lodged in clock framework 48, from which are fixedly suspended at one of their ends spring members 49 and 59. They tensionally engage their re-' spective cam elements M and 42 and urge them towards detent discs 31 and 39, respectively.

Cam elements 4| and 42 are provided with spherical cam surfaces 5| and 52, adapted to come into registry with apertures 39 and 49 of detents 31 and 38.

It will be noted that spring member 49 is somewhat longer than spring member 50, and carried 51 and 58, respectively. These switches control an electric alarm sounder 59, shown in Fig. 4,

.and omitted in Figs. 5 and 6. There is again provided a hand operated control member guided in fixed brackets 6| and 62, and which member may be placed into three successive post-- igesaees tions a manner "similar that explained in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 3. At the lower end or member 60 is provided a u-shaped strucsure or yoke 63, the arms 54 and 65 or which are adapted to engage the lower ends of spring mem bers 49 and 50, respectively, to draw them away from and thus free spring contact blades 55 and 56, so that the latter can swing to their normal, switch openin position.

f operation When setting shaft 36 to the desired hour at which the sound alarm is to operate, control member Wis placed into its first position, shown in Fig. 4. At that position U-shaped structure or yoke 63 will clear spring members 49 and 50. As cam elements 4| and 42 are rotated by shaft 41, first cam element 4! will reach a position at which its cam surface 5! will register with aperture 39 of detent 31. At that moment spring 49 will move cam element 4| to the right until cam surface 5| engages aperture 39; The movement of spring member 49 causes its block 53 to engage blade 55 of switch 51, thus closing the latter, whereby sound alarm 59 becomes energized.

In order to stop the alarm, control member 60 is moved to its second position, shown in Fig. 5-, at which arm 64 of U shaped structure 63 engages the lower end of spring 49 and draws it away from contact blade 55, thus freeing the latter to open switch 51.

As the movement of the cam elements pro-'- gr'esses, cam 42 will move into a position at which its cam surface 52 comes into registry with aperture Ml of detent 38. At that moment spring 50 will move cam 42 to the left so that cam surface 54 ruuy engages aperture 40. Block 54 of spring member 59 then moves contact blade 56 of switch 58 to close the latter, whereby alarm sounder 59 becomes again energized. 7 V a To silence the sounder, control member 60 is moved to its third or last position shown in Fig. 6, at which left-hand arm 65 of U-shaped end structure 63 will engage spring member 50 and draw it away from spring blade 56, thereby opening switch 58. The alarm will not operate again unless control member 60 is brought to its lowermost or first position shown in Fig. 4.

Conclusion From the foregoing it becomes quite evident that the present device may be applied either to spring driven or electrically operated clock movements and that its general operation for both movements is very much alike.

As has been stated previously, the illustrations are intended to serve for explanatory purposes only and therefore are shown in a more or less diagrammatical form to indicate the principle of operation of the present mechanism. It is therefore obvious that when the latter is to be incorporated in either a spring driven or an electrically operated clock movement, its component parts and its structural arrangement have to be modified accordingly, for which reason it becomes evident that structural and operational changes are unavoidable. It is to be understood, therefore, that such changes are to be deemed as residing within the broad scope of the present invention, as defined in the annexed claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a double alarm structure for clocks and the like, a hand-operated alarm-setting shaft, a pair of cam elements adapted to be simultaneously rotated about and being slidable in opposite directions upon the shaft and having oppositely disposed camsurfaces in the form of notches offset to one another at a predetermined arc corresponding to a desired time interval, a pair of detents, one for each cam element, fixedly mounted with the shaft in alignment with each other and being adapted to become periodically engaged by the onset notches of their respective cam elements, a pair of resilient members, one for each cam element, tensionally engaging said elements and normally urging them outwardly and toward their respective detents so that when their respective notches become positioned oppo site said detents, the cam elements are freed to slide upon the shaft toward. the detents as the latter become engaged by said notches, that movement of the cam elements releasing said spring members to move in the direction toward the detents; an alarm sounder; said spring members being adapted to control the operation of the alarm sounder; a hand-operable member movable to several positions relative to at least one of the spring members and having means for retaining it in these positions, incluuding an end position, and being also adapted, when moved to at least one of its positions, to control, by way of at least one of the spring members, the operation or the alarm sounder, and to bring to a final stop the latters operation when moved to its end position.

2. I n a double alarm structure for clocks and the like, an alarm sounder, at least two resilient members movable in opposite directions and adapted to alternately engage and release the sounder, cam and detent means controlling the movements of the resilient members, a hand-'- operated, slidable instrumentality, being movable to three positions, and being adapted to govern the movement of at least one of the resilient members and thereby control the operation and the silencing of the sounder when placed, respectively, to its first and second position, and to bring the sounder operation to a final stop, when moved to its third, or last position.

F '3. In a double alarm structure for clocks and the like, an alarm sounder, a control mechanism for the latter, said mechanism comprising a hand settable shaft provided with fixedly mounted oppositely disposed cam detents in alignment with each other, a pair of oppositely disposed cams, one for each detent, rotatable about and slidable upon said shaft and relative to their respective detents, means for rotating the cams simultaneously, spring members, one for each cam, adapted to normally urge the cams outwardly toward their respective detents; the cams having oppositely disposed cam surfaces for engaging the detents; the cam surface of one cam being angularly offset in respect to that of the other cam; a manually operable, slidably mounted sounder-control member movable to three positions, but initially retained in its first position; one of the spring members being adapted to first block the operation of the sounder until released by the movement of its cam when the latters cam surface engages its corresponding detent; the other spring member having spacing means normally in contact with said sounder-control member, for retaining said other spring member in a sounder-freeing position so that the sounder can operate when released by that one spring member; said soundercontrol member having means for effecting, when moved to its second position, the release of said spacing means and thereby of said other spring member, thus freeing the latter to engage and stop the operation or the sounder; said other spring member, when released by its cam, be adapted to again free the sounder for operation; said sounder-control member, when brought to its last position, moving into the path of operation of the sounder, thus stopping the latters movement.

4. In a double alarm structure for clocks, a hand-operated setting shaft, a pair of cam detents fixedly associated with the shaft, a pair of cams, one for each detent, rotatable and slidable upon said shaft and in respect to their detents, a pair of sprin members, one for each cam, fixedly suspended at one of their ends and normally urging the cams toward their detents; an alarm sounder; the free ends of the spring members being adapted to either free the sounder for operation or engage the latter for silencing it; said cams being adapted for simultaneous rotation about the shaft and being further adapted, when in engagement with their detents, to release said spring members to their sounder-freeing position; a manually operable control member movable to three positions and having means for retaining it in any one of these three positions; one of the spring members having a spacer element for engagement with the control member when the latter is in its first position, said spaced element then causing the one spring member to free the sounder; said control member having a recess for accommodating said spacer element when the control member is in its second position, whereby the spring member is caused to engage the sounder; the end of the control member being adapted, when the latter is in its third position, to engage the sounder and prevent its operation.

5. In a double alarm structure for clocks and the like, an alarm sounder, at least two resilient members movable in opposite directions and being adapted to alternately govern, by their movement, the stopping and operation of the sounder, cam and detent means controlling the movement of these resilient members, and a hand-operated, slidable instrumentality being movable to three positions, and being adapted to thereby cause the movement of one of the resilient members, which latter in turn governs the operation and the silencing of the sounder when said instrumentality is placed, respectively, in its first and second position and to bring the sounder operation to a final stop when that instrumentality is moved to its third, or last position.

6. In a double alarm structure for clocks, a hand-operated setting shaft, 2. pair of cam detents fixedly associated with and disposed at opposite ends of the shaft and being aligned with one another; a pair of gear-operated, oppositely disposed cams, one for each detent, rotatable about the shaft and slidable thereon and towards their respective detents, a pair of spring members, one for each cam, tensionally engaging their respective cams and normally urging them outwardly and toward their detents, an alarm sounder, said spring members extending toward said sounder and being adapted for movement either out of or into the path of operation thereof to either permit or stop the operation of the sounder by positional changes of the members permitted by the movement of the cams, and a hand-operated control member movable to three positions and having means for engaging and disengaging one of said sprin members for either restricting its movement or rendering it free to respond to the movements of its respective cam, thereby either stopping or permitting the operation of said alarm sounder as the cam engages its detent.

JOHN WOLBARS-T.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,057,668 Porter Apr. 1, 1913 1,228,039 Meikle May 29, 1917 1,928,040 Windesheim Sept. 26, 1933 2,033,251 Olian Mar. 10, 1936 2,094,989 Kohlhagen Oct. 5, 1937 

